500sq ft Apartment
by Somebody knows
Summary: Its been four years since I left. AU OCC Disclaimer I do not own Lab Rats.
1. Chapter 1

"Bree?" He asks his voice filled with disbelief and hesitant hope.

"It's me." I whisper, still in shock that I called him after four years.

"Are you okay?" His voice is laced with concern.

"Yes." I reply, though it feels like a lie.

He takes a deep breath before speaking, "When your GPS stopped giving a signal six months after you left I thought-" His voice cracks and he stops speaking, "It doesn't matter, I'm just glad your okay."

Guilt immediately settles in my stomach, but I ignore it. "Can we meet up somewhere?" I hesitantly ask, not sure if he'll accept the new me.

"Of course, you can come here whenever you want. Everyone's going to be so excited-" He says but I cut him off.

"I'm not ready to see them yet, please don't tell them." I plead.

He gets really serious, "We though you were dead, they still think you are dead. Bree, they deserve to know."

"Okay, but I'm not ready to see them yet." I say.

"Okay. When and where do you want to meet up?" He asks.

"I live two hours away in Zeddtown, and there's a coffee shop called Clarity. We can meet there at 3 tomorrow if you want." I say.

"Of course. And when did my little girl start drinking coffee?" He says, I can practically see the smile on his face.

"I love you." He says suddenly. "I know I didn't say it much, but I just wanted you to know."

"I knew, and I love you too." I say.

"I'll see you tomorrow Bree." He sounds hesitant to say goodbye. I know its because he doesn't want to lose me again.

"Yes tomorrow." I say and then hang up.

I put the phone in the receiver and walk out of my kitchen to my small living space. My 500sq foot apartment is a far cry from the mansion I grew up in, but I love it anyway. I see the T.V. on and a little boy with sandy hair, sky blue eyes, and tan skin sitting in front of it playing with the blocks he got for Christmas. When he sees me his eyes light up and a smile spreads across his face.

I sit next to him and say, "Tomorrow we are going to meet my dad."

 **A/N I really got to stop writing new stories and start focusing on my unfinished ones.**

 **Anyway please me know what you think.**

 **Have a great summer.**


	2. Chapter 2

I was so nervous I changed my little boys outfit five times and mine seven times. The coffee shop is about a five minute walk from my apartment but I left thirty minutes early anyway just to make sure I got there on time. I walk in and see my dad already sitting down with a cup of coffee in front of him. He looks the same except lacking his usual air of confidence, instead he looked nervous. His head snaps up and he makes eye contact the moment the door closes. He waves me over, smiling from ear to ear. He doesn't even seem deterred by the toddler on my hip. I swallow the lump in my throat and give a smile back as I walk over to him. He stands up and engulfs me in a hug before gesturing to the booth seat across from him.

He sits across from me and asks, "Can I get you anything? My treat."

I want to say no to show him that I'm not the same dependent teen I once was, but the look on his face is begging for me to say yes. "Yes, a caramel latte and a chocolate cookie please." I say.

When he leaves I take a deep breath trying to calm the butterflies in my stomach. I don't know why I'm nervous, this man might not be my father but he raised me and I've known him all my life. The warmth on my side moves to my lap. I look down and smile at the boy on my lap, he grins back.

"Here you go." He says as he slides into the seat across from me and hands me my order.

"So who's this little guy?" He asks while making goofy faces causing the boy to giggle.

"This is Ezra," I say and the pause before continuing, "my son." I can't meet his eyes.

"I know." He says.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"I know he's your son. I saw it the moment you walked in. He has the same skin tone as you, his hair is wavy just like yours, he has your nose, and chin. He has your grandmothers eyes." He finishes with a smile.

"I'm sorry." I blurt out.

He looks at me like I'm crazy.

"I'm sorry that I left and didn't tell you why." I clarify.

Donald's face is filled with sorrow, "I should be the one apologizing. I made it so you couldn't trust me. You were so scared that instead of coming to me you ran away. I am so sorry that you felt like you couldn't trust me. It was never my intention to make you feel that way. And for that I am truly sorry." He says.

"I was ashamed, I made a stupid mistake when I was drinking at a grad party. It was my first time drinking and I wasn't going to do it but I did so I wouldn't be different. I knew I could talk to you, but I didn't want you to be ashamed of me. I was supposed to be an unrecognized hero instead I became a -" I choked back a sob, this is the first time I've ever let my thoughts leave my head.

"Its ok, I understand. You don't need to tell me everything at once, lets just start with how are you?" He says, taking the pressure off.

I smile, "Good, I recently enrolled in community college and I work."

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking. I learned how the family was doing, Douglas lives with them now, Chase is away at some fancy college on a full ride, and Adam and Leo go to the community college in Mission Creek and still live at home. He learned about Ezra, like he's 3, doesn't know how to talk yet, never met his father, and is very laid back. I didn't realize how late it was till the barista asked if anyone remaining wanted the last coffee on the house.

"How'd you arrive?" He asked.

"We walked." I replied as I gathered all of my stuff and Ezra's toys.

"Let me drive you home." He offered.

"Wait I don't have a car seat, let me walk you home." He backpedaled.

"You don't have to, I don't live in a bad neighborhood." I reply irritably, feeling like he's trying to tell me what to do.

"Please." He pleads.

I look up and realize he's just trying to spend more time with me, I suddenly feel guilty.

"Ok." I relent.

We walk out the door and I feel nervous about showing him my apartment since it's smaller then his bathroom. Before I could think of a way to convince him to not come my phone goes off and Ezra begins to fuss because he's tired.

"Could you hold him for a second, I got to make sure this isn't important." I ask.

He looks like I just told him the best thing in the whole world, and he quickly nods yes. I hand Ezra over and pull out my phone, 'it's my boss' I mouth to him as he holds a calm Ezra in his arms.

I motion for him to follow me as I listen to my boss rant about something. I finally get off the phone by the time I arrive home. I turn around and see Ezra fast asleep on Donald's right shoulder.

"Would you like to come in?" I ask, slightly embarrassed about my living situation, but he seems at ease and not disgusted.

He smiles and nods yes, while rubbing slow circles on Ezra's back.

I show him to Ezra's room, the only bedroom in the house, and he pulls back the covers and gently places Ezra on top of them. Then he takes his shoes off and tucks him in.

We sit on the couch in in the living room.

"Bree, I'm not trying to pressure you or make you feel guilty, but could you at least call them. You don't need to tell them anything, its just we thought you were dead. Just let them hear your voice if nothing else." Donald pleas.

I stop to think for a moment, "I'm sorry for putting you guys through that much pain, I knew you guys would eventually find me so I took the chip out the first chance I could." I touch the small scar that once held my chip; I wince at the painful reminder.

"I knew the chips were powered by us, so I still kept the chip since it was no longer giving off a signal." I say, then I get up and walk over to my bookshelf, I pull out the picture of Adam, Chase, and I after our first mission, it's slightly fuzzy because Leo was so excited when he was taking the picture, and Donald is in the background writing a mission report, he wasn't aware he was in this picture. I take the back of the frame off and pull out a blue chip.

I walk back over and sit next to him and hand him the chip. "Here, I've kept it safe, but I don't know if it's going to work after all these years."

He takes it and examines it, "Its in pristine condition, and should still work. But I've been updating the boys chips so they glitch less and are more efficient. It needs to be in you to be updated though." He says.

"Can't you just put it in someone else?" I ask.

"No, each chip was designed for its owners body type, mind, and DNA. So you are the only one that can have it, if I put it in someone else they might die." He explains.

"What about that one time Adam, Chase, and I switched chips?" I ask.

"You guys are siblings and were raised the exact same way, so you thought a like, not necessarily the same but similarly. Plus you have similar DNA. That's why it didn't kill you, but it didn't fit either." He answers.

"Anyway, you should keep this and let me know if you want it updated and back in you." He offers.

"I don't think I can rejoin the team, especially after all that's happened." I say.

Donald smiles, "I know you could rejoin the team if you put your mind to it, but I'm not going to ask you to join. I'm just offering to give you your bionics back."

I'm shocked, after everything I've done he still wants to help. "I'll think about it." I mumble.

He grins, and then engulfs me in a bone-crushing hug. "I love you Bree."

I hug him back, letting my self be a kid once more, "I love you too daddy."

Then we pull away and he speaks, "If you need anything, and I mean _anything_ , just call."

"Thank you. Please don't tell them anything." I ask.

"I wont tell them anything significant, just that you are doing well. Please consider calling them." He says.

"Okay." I reply.

We walk to the door and hug once more before he exits.

It's a relief to know that its not the last time I'm going to see him.

 **A/N Sorry for the super late update, I've had the first half written for months but then I lost inspiration for the second half.**

 **Please review and let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Troy I can't thank you enough." I say as my front door opens to reveal my neighbor holding Ezra.

"No need to thank me, I enjoy hanging out with the kid, he's pretty cool." Troy says.

Troy West is my wonderful neighbor who moved in 2 months after Ezra and I. The first time we met was when I was unlocking the door while balancing groceries, and Ezra was crying in his carseat. Troy showed was walking to his apartment, and noticed my distress, so he offered to help. After that he's been Ezra's main baby sitter and one of my closest friends. He knows everything, except the bionics.

Ezra happily pulls on Troy's ponytail as I shut the door behind me.

Troy sets Ezra on the ground and Ezra walks over to his toys and begins to play with them. Troy fixes his hair before he starts to speak.

"Bree I can't babysit for you on Friday, Lexi's dad is coming into town and I can't get out of it. I'm really sorry." Troy apologizes; I can see the guilt in his eyes.

Lexi Krane has been Troy's girlfriend for more then 2 years, and her dad is unforgiving. Troy has been trying to get on his good side for their whole relationship.

"Its fine, you've done more than enough already." I say, but now I don't know what I'm going to do. I have midterms on Friday, and can't get out of them. I highly doubt my teachers would let me bring my son.

"What about your dad?" Troy says like he just had an ah ha moment.

"I don't know, we've only recently reconnected and Ezra might not be comfortable enough with him and –"I argue, but Troy cuts me off.

"Bree you said it yourself that him and Ezra hit it off well, heck the kid didn't even like me that much when I first started hanging around here. Plus he told you to call him if you need _anything_." Troy argues.

"Everyone says that, it's just a polite thing to say." I retort.

Troy rolls his eyes, "Now your just making excuses."

"No I'm not." I counter, with a slight whine in my voice.

"Just call him." Troy says.

I begin to push Troy out the door, "Thanks again!"

"By little man." Troy says as he grabs his jacket and wallet as I push him out.

Ezra looks over his shoulder and grins at Troy while waving.

"Good luck with Victor." I say as I shut the door. I lock the dead bolt and lean against the door.

"Call him!" Troy yells from the other side of the door.

"Ugh!" I say very loudly.

I hear Troy chuckling as he walks away.

I sigh in defeat before walking over to Ezra and ruffling his hair, which causes him to giggle. "Hey bud, how would you feel if my dad watched you on Saturday?" I ask, knowing he wont respond.

He just grins at me before going back to the toy in front of him.

I sigh as I walk over to my phone and dial the number I know by heart.

It rings twice before I hear his cheerful voice, "Hello Bree!"

"Hey." I greet back, suddenly getting cold feet.

"What's going on?" He asks, his voice light with elation.

"Not much, I have mid terms on Friday." I respond.

"Adam and Leo start midterms next week and Chase just finished with his." He says.

"Ok." I say, trying to get myself to spit it out.

"Is everything ok Bree?" He asks, his words full of concern.

"Um no actually. My babysitter has a last minute engagement on Friday and I need a babysitter. I was wondering if you had some free time?" I ask.

"Of course I have time, I can just take the day off. What time do you need me to be there?" He asks.

"I need to be at school by 9 am, so 8 if you can make it." I say timidly.

"8 it is." He says.

I let out a small sigh of relief, "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"Its no problem sweetie. I got to go now, but I'll see you on Friday at 8." He says.

"Okay, and thanks again." I reply.

"I love you." He says.

"Love you too." I reply.

I hear him hang up before I place my phone in the receiver.

I sit next to Ezra and watch him play with his toys, "Hey Ez, Troy can't watch you on Friday, so my dad will be."

 **A/N Sorry if this chapter seems choppy and rushed, I'm** **really busy but I wanted to update.**

 **Please let me know what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you sure you got everything? " I ask.

My dad sighs before answering, "Yes Bree."

"Okay. The emergency numbers are on the fridge, since you probably wont be able to reach me. Try Troy first, he's Ezra's main baby sitter. If he doesn't pick up call Lexi, they are together right now. And my co-worker Linda would be happy to-" I start, but he cuts me off.

"Bree you arranged the numbers in order of importance, and I raised you and your brothers. I think I can handle this." Dad assures me.

"Now go or else you'll be late." He urges.

"Okay." I say.

I quickly rush over to Ezra, who has been sitting on the counter, watching dad make him breakfast.

I wrap him in a hug and kiss him on the head. "I love you."

His little arms wrap around my neck.

I let him go and kiss him on the forehead once more before I rush out with a good bye thrown over my shoulder.

 **Line Break**

On my way home from mid terms I literally run into someone. I fall and land on my butt, an ungraceful squeak leaves my mouth in surprise.

"Are you okay?" A deep voice asks.

I look up and see a hand sticking out, a very muscular arm attached to said hand, broad shoulders with a nice neck are attached to the nice arm, and a handsome face that is marred by concern at the moment.

I place my much smaller hand in his and he helps me up effortlessly.

"Are you okay?" He asks again.

I flush when I realize that I didn't answer it the first time. "Yes, and thanks for the help." I reply, hoping my voice doesn't betray how embarrassed I am.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Are you okay?" I add.

He smiles, revealing his shiny white teeth. "I'm fine, but I should be apologizing."

I look at him, and realize he doesn't belong in this apartment building because he is filthy rich. He has this aura around him, and the way he looks just screams upper class, I know this because that use to be me.

"Are you lost? I live here and haven't seen you before." I ask out of curiosity.

His smile widens, "No, I was just visiting someone."

"Oh, do you need help finding their apartment?" I ask.

"Actually I was just leaving." He says.

I'm sure my face is beet red now. "Sorry for running into you."

"Its no problem." He says. He sends me one more dazzling smile before we part ways.

I practically sprint back to home, but I'm extra carful about running into handsome strangers.

I rush in and quickly shut the door behind me and lock it. I lean against the door.

"What's the rush?" Dad teases.

I turn around and see him sitting in the couch watching T.V quietly with Ezra using him as a pillow. Dad is running his fingers soothingly through Ezra's hair.

I really hope my face is no longer red. "I'm just going to shower, I'll be right back." I say before I run into the bathroom. The mirror reveals that my face is indeed red, and I look like a mess. Oh well, I'll just make sure I look good for the next handsome stranger.

 **Line Break**

I walk out of the bathroom in an oversized t-shirt and sweats, my hairs up in a messy bun and I'm wearing my glasses because my contacts were bothering me.

Dad is to engrossed in whatever he's watching; he doesn't even notices me until I sit next to him.

He looks over and smiles, "Hey Bree, how did you midterms go?"

"Good." I reply.

"That's great. You seemed frazzled when you walked in, I was worried you failed them or something." He says.

"I just ran into someone, literally. It kind of threw me off. Anyway, how was Ezra?" I ask.

"He was perfect, I fed him breakfast and he ate all of it. Then we went to the park, and he had a blast making me chase him. I really wore him out and fed him lunch before he fell asleep. Then you came home thirty minutes later." Dad informs.

"I thought grandkids were suppose to get revenge for their grandparents." Dad adds.

I realize for the first time that I've been referring to dad as my dad, my family, whenever I tell Ezra about him, not referring to him as grandpa, or even letting Ezra know that he's his family too. I know he's three, but still.

"What's that suppose to mean?" I ask.

Dad grins, "Bree I love you, but your were a pain as a child. You always fussed, not liking whatever I gave you. During breakfast you would throw food at me if it wasn't what you wanted. You also started taking at 11 months, and always wanted to be the center of attention."

"Maybe it was because I was the middle child." I argue.

"No because Adam was a little angle and he had two younger siblings to take attention away from him, and Chase was always a quiet one." Dad counters.

I just roll my eyes.

Ezra wakes up and blinks a couple of times because for drowsiness, then he notices me and crawls over dad so he can sit on my lap.

"Everyone else asked me a million questions, but I just told them you were fine and you would tell them eventually." Dad suddenly says.

"Did you tell them about Ezra?" I ask.

He shakes his head 'no'.

"Thank you. I'll tell them soon." I say.

We spend the next hour just talking and playing with Ezra before Dad has to go home.

Ezra and I wave him off before shutting the door. Not even a minute later do I hear a knock, thinking it was dad and he forgot something I open it without looking to see who it was. I open the door and see a very frazzled Troy standing on the other side.

"Troy?" I ask.

He just comes in and sits at my very small dining table/desk.

"I met her brother today, and it did not go smoothly." Troy says.

I give Ezra a juice box before I sit next to Troy. "Okay Troy, tell me what happened."

Tory looks at me and says, "Victor couldn't make it today because of business problems so he sent his eldest son. Everything was fine and we came back to my apartment to just hang out, then the hospital called Lexi and said they needed her so she left us."

"So?" I ask, not really seeing the real problem.

Troy just glares at me for interrupting. I hold my hands up in surrender.

"So we just sat there and talked and he began telling me that Victor hates me and wants Lexi to break up with me." Troy continues.

"That doesn't mean she's going to break up with you, you've guys have been together for 2 years." I say.

"But Sebastian warned me that Victor _hates_ me. Lexi loves and respects her father, she's a daddy's girl, I don't know what she'd do if he told her to break up with me." Troy says.

"First off who's Sebastian?" I ask.

"The older brother, and the oldest of the Krane kids. He'll probably inherit the company." Troy replies.

"How many kids does Krane have? Never mind, that's not important. What is important is Lexi loves you, and it's going to take a lot more then that for her to break up with you." I say.

"He has three kids, Sebastian is 26, then Tank who's 23, and finally Lexi who is 22." Troy says.

He completely ignored the main point of my little speech. "Tank?"

"It's a nickname, his name is Joel." Troy informs me.

"Well what do Sebastian and Tank think?" I ask.

"I've never met Tank, he's the wild child who is traveling the world right now with Victors money. And I though Sebastian liked me until he started telling me how much his father hates me." Troy says.

Ezra walks over and hands me his empty juice box. "Thanks bud, you keep Uncle Troy company while I go get you a snack." I say.

Ezra nods and then begins to pull Troy's shirt to get his attention.

Troy looks at him and asks, "You wont leave me? Right buddy."

I just shake my head at his dramatics and grab some crackers for Ezra.

I sit down and hand them to Ezra, who's sitting on Tory's lap.

"Why don't you just hang out with Sebastian, if he likes you maybe he could talk to Victor." I say.

"That's a good idea, Lexi wants me to come with her to Sebastian's doctorate party. I guess we can talk then." Troy says.

"He's 26 with a doctorate? In what?" I ask.

"In law and astrophysics." Troy says.

"Impressive." I say.

Troy's face breaks out into a mischievous smile, which means he's up to something that I'm not going to like.

"No." I say.

"You didn't even know what I was going to say." Troy complains.

"But I'm not going to like it." I counter.

"Just hear me out." Troy says.

"Fine." I concede.

Troy smiles, "You should come with us, and before you argue about being the third wheel you know it would most likely be me who is the third wheel since Lexi loves you. Also you would fit in because you use to complain about your dad bringing you to these things with your brothers. Plus there will be _tons_ of eligible bachelors there, and you need to get back out there." Troy finishes his speech.

"I don't need a man, and what about Ezra?" I ask.

"Ask your dad, I'm sure he'd be more then happy to help. He's a nice guy Bree. And you don't need a man, but you haven't been on a date since you were a senior in high school." Troy argues.

"What am I going to tell my dad, 'I'm going to go to a party please watch my son.' I don't think that would go over well." I retort.

"Bree you need to have some fun, you're a great mom but everyone needs a break." Troy says.

I sigh, he's right it would be nice to have some fun and Ezra loves my dad.

"Fine, but tell Lexi to not try and set me up with any guys." I say.

"Of course I'm your wingman." Troy teases.

I roll my eyes, "You'd be the worst wingman, and the only reason you and Lexi are together is because I was your _wingman_." I tease.

"You're the best! Its next Saturday, and you can borrow on of Lexis dresses if you want." Troy says.

"I can just ask my dad for one of my old dresses, or maybe go shopping." I say.

"Ask Tasha to go with you, it'd be a good way to reconnect and I'll watch Ezra." Troy suggests.

"Maybe. Now go home and tell Lexi I'm coming." I say.

"She'll be ecstatic." Troy informs. Then he gives Ezra a hug and walks to the door.

"By Bree, and thanks again." He says, looking much calmer then he did when I let him in.

I just wave at him. He grins before shutting the door.

"Ezra what did I get myself into." I ask.

Ezra just hands me a cracker.

 **A/N Longest chapter yet!**

 **Tasha is making her debut appearance in the next chapter.**

 **Please review and let me know what you think.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey dad what are you doing next Saturday?" I ask.

We are back at Clarity's eating breakfast, I'm sitting across from dad and Ezra is sitting next to him. I use to be Ezra's favorite person, but now it's dad.

"Chase is coming for the weekend because one of his friends is throwing a party, so during the day Chase is going to stop by and we'll probably go to the company. But at night I'm free, why?" He asks.

"I was just wondering if you could babysit, I was invited to a party. Its okay of you can't, it's not really that big of a deal." I say.

"Of course I can babysit." He says with a huge grin on his face.

I smile, "Thanks dad."

"Its no problem, I like the little guy." He says as he pats Ezra on the head.

I smile, and we spend the rest of the morning talking about how our lives have been. Douglas lost his eyebrows in a mini explosion the other day, Leo forgot his and Janelle's anniversary, Tasha lost her 'big break' because of a cold and her co-worker got the story, and Adam brought a pig home the other day.

I tell him about the party I'm going to, and why Troy is freaking out.

We finished breakfast and dad dropped us off at the apartment because he wanted to show me the car seat he bought the other day.

I thank him before I walk upstairs to my apartment; Lexi's suppose to be coming over later today.

An hour and a half later I'm folding laundry while Ezra plays with his blocks, when the doorbell rings.

"Coming!" I yell as I fold one of Ezra's shirts.

I rush to the door, and see Lexi standing on the other side.

"Come on in." I say as I open it.

She smiles and we hug.

I put the unfinished laundry on the coffee table so we can sit on the couch.

Lexi folds her legs under her and pats Ezra on the head, "Hey Ezzie, how are you?"

He grins up at her in response.

I grab two waters before sitting next to her.

I hand her one as I ask, "Any gross ER stories you want to share?"

She laughs, "No, I'm still technically not a nurse yet so I don't get to see the fun stuff."

I fake pout.

Lexi and I haven't had a chance to meet up for a week and a half now, so we spend a hour catching up.

"So I hear your coming with us?" Lexi asks like she doesn't know, but she does since Troy tells her everything.

"Yeah, if that's okay." I say.

Lexi lightly hits me on the shoulder, "Of course it is Bree, you were my first choice as a plus one, but Troy begged me to take him so I caved." She teases.

We laugh.

"So I hear this brother of yours is 'scary'." I say, emphasizing scary with air quotes.

She waves her hand dismissively, "He's not scary, just very serious. He can't take a joke, and his sarcasm sounds like his every day voice so it's hard to decipher between he two."

I roll my eyes, "So Troy was being dramatic like usual?" I ask, but it was more of a statement.

"Isn't he always?" She asks with a smile before continuing, "I don't know why he's so scared I'll leave him, we've been going strong for years now. I mean we have our fights, like very other couple, but we work through them."

"He's just insecure. He's trying to start a karate school, he's dirt poor, and he is dating the gorgeous daughter of a billionaire weapons manufacture. I think he feels like he isn't good enough or something." I say.

She shakes her head side to side and says, "Men."

We laugh and she says, "So when are we going dress shopping?"

I sigh, "I was thinking about asking Tasha to go, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea or if I should talk to her first."

"If she's anything like your dad she'll welcome you back with open arms. And you don't need to start with the heavy stuff, think of this as a baby step. Plus I'll be there to be a buffer." Lexi says.

"She doesn't know about Ezra, or why I ran away. I asked dad not to tell her anything, so she only knows I'm alive and safe." I say.

Lexi lays a comforting hand on my arm, "She won't be ashamed of you. Look at where you are; you've made it here by yourself. You are a smart young lady, who is a great mom, a great college student, and a great friend. And if she treats you differently, you'll always have us." Lexi encourages.

"Thanks Lexi, I appreciate it." I say.

Lexi smiles and then takes her hand off my arm only to shove my phone in my face with her other hand, "Call her now. And don't worry about babysitting, Troy will do it."

I lean away from the phone and just stare at it, butterflies settle in my stomach.

"Your looking at it like its diseased, just call her already." Lexi impatiently says, she wiggles the phone in my face for emphasis.

I snatch the phone out of her hand and dial Tasha's number before I chicken out. Dad gave me Adam, Chase's, Douglas's, Leo's, and Tasha's numbers so I could reconnect with them if I wanted too.

"Hello?" I hear Tasha's voice on the other line.

I take a deep breath and say, "Hey Tasha, this is Bree."

"Bree!" She says excitedly.

"Yeah, I hope dad isn't saying anything to bad about me." I tease.

"Dad? Oh Donald. Actually he wont say anything about you except that you are doing fine and will call when you ready. Are you ready to talk?" She asks.

I send a silent thank you to dad. "Not yet. I was actually calling to see if you wanted to go dress shopping with me. I'm bringing my friend, but it's always good to have a second opinion." I say.

"Of course sweetie! When and where?" She asks.

I hold my hand over the phone and mouth 'where' to Lexi.

She shrugs.

I give her a look that says 'not helpful'. She smirks back and then gets up to go play with Ezra.

"Um, I live near True Colors the mall, if that's okay with you." I suggest. True Colors is the largest mall near Zeddtown, its about 30 minutes away.

"That's perfect!" She says.

"Does Tuesday at 2 work?" I ask. It's after school and my day off.

"Yes, do you want to meet there?" She asks.

"Yeah, its near where I live." I say.

"Okay." She says.

We make small talk for a few minutes before we hang up. I can tell Tasha is a little hesitant about hanging up, she probably thinks she'll never hear from me again.

I place my phone next to the laundry basket and go and sit next to Lexi who is teaching my son how to play hide and seek but he doesn't want to go hide.

"Lexi can I get a ride on Tuesday to the True Colors?" I ask.

"Sure, we can take Sebastian's Corvette." She says.

"What's wrong with your Porsche?" I ask.

"Its getting waxed on Tuesday, and Sebastian has 5 cars. So he'll let his baby sister borrow one." She says.

Her dad bought he a Porsche when she graduated college.

"Ezzie uncle Troy is going to watch you on Tuesday so mommy and I can go shopping." Lexi informs Ezra.

"Now go hide, so I can seek." She says.

He giggles, but doesn't move.

 **A/N Thanks for all the wonderful reviews; it really means a lot to know that people enjoy this. I made another reference in this chapter that has to do with the first one, please let me know what you think!**

 **Tasha is officially back in Bree's life!**

 **I have a surprise for you guys in the next chapter to make up for the lack of anything in this chapter! Lets see how many of your picked up on the foreshadowing :)**

 **Please review and let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

"I love you." I say to Ezra as I hug him goodbye. He just pecks me on the cheek. I lightly squeeze him before I head out the door.

"Thanks Troy!" I yell over my shoulder as I head to Lexis brother's fancy car that's worth more then my home.

Lexi gives Troy a quick kiss followed by a, "I love you." Before she runs ahead of me to unlock the car.

I see Lexi sitting in the driver's seat of a shiny black corvette that looks brand new. The interior is black leather with a touch of royal blue, and it only has 2 seats.

"Lexi if we scratch this your brothers is probably going to hate me, and we haven't even met yet." I say as I settle into the very comfortable passengers seat.

Lexi waves her hand dismissively at me, "This is car is his everyday car. His favorite car is his Ferrari, he won't even let me touch that much less drive it."

"I thought your brother just graduated college, after being there for 8 years. How on earth does he afford this?" I say.

Lexi pulls away from the curb she parked by and heads toward the mall.

"Well dad paid for his college, as long as he was able to keep a 4.0 grade point average, and he works for the company. I think he makes over 2 million dollars a year." She says.

This isn't surprising, because I use to live in a similar social circle, what is surprising though is he has 2 PhDs and works full time. "So he went to college full time, for 2 degrees, and worked full time?" I ask.

"Yeah daddy dearest doesn't accept failures, or children living off of their parents. This is why my other brother left." Lexi says.

We spend the rest of the ride talking about the party.

I'm completely relaxed by the time we arrive at the mall. Lexi parks far away so no one accidently hits Sebastian's car.

We were chatting about work when I hear someone say my name causing both Lexi and I look behind us.

Tasha is waving at us as she walks over.

I can't help but smile when I see her. She has always been there for me, and as much as I love my brothers and father I still needed a girl in my life and she filled the gap.

She reaches us and I gesture to Lexi, "Tasha this is my friend Lexi, and Lexi this is my stepmom."

Tasha and Lexi shake hands and exchange pleasantries. Tasha and I hug after Lexi and Tasha meet.

"You left me with four boys." Tasha teases after we part.

I laugh and say, "I'm sorry, I should have took you with me."

Tasha waves her hand and says, "Ancient history." We laugh and then begin shopping.

Lexi keeps the topics light, and doesn't mention Ezra once, which I'm thankful for. I will tell Tasha, but I want to tell her when we have time to talk.

3 hours later Lexi and I have our dresses and Tasha paid for them. We argued at first, but she insisted. Now we are eating lunch and talking about the party.

Tasha is giving Lexi advise about Troy's situation and I just sit there and bask in the moment of reconnecting with part of my family again.

We finish lunch and walk to the parking lot together.

"Girls it was a pleasure, we should do this in the future." Tasha says.

We agree.

I hug Tasha before she walks away.

"This was nice." Tasha says as she hugs me back.

I pull away a little before saying, "We need to talk."

She smiles, "Of course, but when your ready."

We smile and part ways back to our separate cars.

Lexi bumps shoulders with me once Tasha's out of sight, "See there was nothing to worry about."

I smile, "Yeah, it was nice."

 **Line Break**

I'm at Troy's place with Lexi getting ready, while dad, Troy, and Ezra are at my place watching cartoons.

Lexi is wearing a maroon dress, with a sweetheart neckline and a deep back. Her hair is curly and hanging over her left shoulder, showing off her neck. Her makeup is natural which highlights her eyes and cheekbones. The front of her dress stops short of her knees, while the back fans out and continues a little further, and she is wearing black stilettos that make her legs look endless. She looks gorgeous, and Troy is going to be speechless when he sees her.

I'm wearing a dark blue dress, with a semi-sweetheart neckline and a back that shows my shoulder blades. My hair is left in its natural waves, and my makeup is similar to Lexis. My dress stops above my knees, and I'm wearing simple black heels that show off my toned legs from my days of running.

I grab my clutch and Lexi grabs her purse before we head out of Troy's apartment. Lexi locks the door after us, and then we link arms and walk through my door.

The boys are laughing at something on the TV when we walk in; they turn around when the door shuts. Dad and Ezra smile at us while Troy's mouth hangs open. Dad picks Ezra up and they walk over to us, while Troy just sits where he is.

"You girls look beautiful." Dad says when he comes over. Ezra reaches toward me and I pick him up and rest him on my hip.

Troy seems to have snapped out of his daze and rushes over to Lexi.

Tory is wearing a white button down, that has the first button undone, and a black jacket with matching pants. His hair is out of its usual ponytail, and he is wearing black dress shoes.

He puts his hand on the small of Lexi's back and whispers something in her ear that causes her to blush.

Troy then clears his throat and says, "Your dad is right, you two are beautiful."

"You guys better hurry or you will be late." Dad says.

I kiss Ezra on the cheek and hand him over to dad. "I love you guys. Thanks again dad."

He smiles and says, "Its no problem, I love the little guy."

We all say our farewells before heading toward the Lexus Sebastian is letting Lexi borrow. I don't have a car, Lexis Porsche had two seats, and Troy's truck has a bench that sits three people but is about ready to fall apart.

Troy holds the passengers door open for Lexi, and then opens the door behind her for me.

He then rushes into the drivers seat.

"Are you sure you can get there? I don't mind driving." Lexi asks.

Troy scoffs as he puts his seatbelt on, "Of course I can get there, I used Google maps earlier."

Lexi looks uncertain, but doesn't comment. Troy plays the rock station as we drive in comfortable silence.

Troy gets lost, so it takes an extra twenty minutes to get there since he refused to ask for help.

We pull up in front of a beautiful condo complex that has valet parking. Troy opens the door for Lexi, while the valet opens the door for me. Lexi and I link arms and walk through the door the doorman has open for us, while Troy follows.

Lexi leads us to the elevator and we pile in. She hits the top button.

"My brother own the top two floor, and the roof, the elevator opens up in his living room." Lexi informs on the ride up.

The doors open to a spacious modern room. There are about thirty people in here, and by the sounds of it there are more people on the roof.

There is a group of four guys talking that Lexi leads us to, the one who has his back facing us looks familiar but I can't quite put my finger on it.

"Sebastian." Lexi calls, and the four guys focus on her.

The one who looks familiar turns around and smiles at Lexi, revealing his perfect teeth. Realization hits me when I realize he's the handsome stranger I ran into. I can feel my face heating, but thankfully nobody seems to notice.

The handsome stranger engulfs Lexi into a hug. I'm wondering why Troy isn't reacting; he's just standing there like it's the most normal thing in the world.

He lets her go and puts his arm around her, and turns to face the three remaining guys. "Lexi this is Clayton Harrington, Joey Logano, and Jake Chambers. Guys this is my baby sister Lexi, her boyfriend Troy, and I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting." The last part was directed toward me.

He lets go of Lexi and holds his hand out, I place mine in it and we shake hands as Lexi introduces me since I've seemed to lose the ability to speak.

"This is my best friend Bree." Lexi introduces.

"What a beautiful name." He comments, still holding my hand.

Everyone else politely shakes hands and exchanges small talk.

I find my voice and say the first thing that comes to mind, "I ran into you, I'm sorry."

My face is probably beet red; I can't believe I said that. The looks that Lexis keeps giving me says she also can't believe I said that.

He lets go of my hand and lets out a hearty laugh, "I know. I'm Sebastian by the way, Lexis older brother."

"I think congratulations are due then." I say, glad that I have started functioning like a normal human being again.

He waves his hand and says, "I've been hearing it all night. Lets just skip that and go get drinks. Shall we?" He questions, as he gestures to the stairs I assume lead to his deck.

I look over at Lexi, Tory, and Sebastian's friends.

He follows my gaze before turning around and offering me his arm.

"Don't worry about them." He says.

I smile and put my arm in his. He grins and begins to lead us to the stairs.

I look at him from the corner of my eye and see the suit is showing off his broad shoulders, and well defined arms. His jaw has some stubble, which makes it look more pronounced. His hair is styled to look messy but tamed, which gives him this professional, but mischievous look. He looks even more handsome then he did the last time we met.

He begins talking, which snaps me out of my discreet staring.

"How did you and Lexi meet?" He asks.

"We had English together." I say, which is true but I didn't actually start talking to her until Troy developed a crush on her, but was to shy to go and talk to her. So I did after class one day, and we hit it off. Then I set Troy and her up on a blind date, and the rest is history.

He opens the door that leads to his deck and then grabs two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter.

He hands me one with a wink. I take it but don't drink; I haven't had a sip of alcohol since my senior grad party.

He takes a sip before talking again, "I remember Lexi talking about you, she said you set her up with Troy. Is that correct?" He asks.

"Yes." I reply.

He laughs slightly, "Well I must thank you for the wrath my father has instilled in me for Troy."

I fill the need to defend Troy, "Troy's a wonderful boyfriend to Lexi, and you should just back off."

His face shifts from a smirk to a genuine smile. "You're a little fire cracker aren't you? I think it's admirable that you stick up for your friend, but it's falling on deaf ears. I quite like Troy actually, and think he's good to Lexi. But my father disagrees, and that's why I'm in Zeddtown watching over my baby sister. After all it's my job to make sure no man hurts her."

The tension leaves my shoulders, he wasn't making fun of Troy he was just stating a fact. "Good." I retort, with sarcasm laced in my words.

The song changes from upbeat to a slow song.

"Would you like to dance?" Sebastian asks, his head tilted to the right and the smirk is back on his face.

I look around and see no one else dancing, "No ones dancing." I state.

He grins and takes my glass and puts it on a passing waiters tray.

He takes my hand and gracefully pulls me to the middle of the deck. He puts my left hand on his shoulder and my right in his left, and then he places his left hand on my hip.

We begin to move fluidly, like we've been doing this for years.

I look around but Sebastian captures my attention, "Who cares if no ones dancing. It's my party and if I want to dance with a beautiful girl I will."

I flush and look down, but quickly regain my composure and look him in the eye.

We spend the song in comfortable silence. By the end of the song a couple more pairs have joined us, but I didn't notice until we stopped dancing.

He smirks at me, "Thank you."

I smile back, "You're not bad."

He lets out a laugh that attracts the attention of those around us, but he pays them no mind.

He was about to say something when his phone rings, "Normally I would ignore it when I'm with a beautiful girl, but it's important. Please give me a second?" He asks.

I nod. He smiles and then walks off to a secluded part of the deck and answers his iPhone. I walk over to an empty table on the perimeter of the deck and take a seat. I look over the edge of the deck and stare out over the downtown area of Zeddtown, the lights form the shops are beautiful. I wish I brought a shawl though; the night air is causing goose bumps.

I check my phone and see 1 text from Tasha, 2 from Troy, 7 from Lexi, and a missed call from Lexi.

Tasha's text is just whishing me good luck.

Troy's texts are informing me that Lexi is worried that her brother kidnaped me, and that he was downstairs in the kitchen with Lexi, Joey, and Clayton.

Lexi's texts are asking where I am, if I'm ok, and why I'm acting weird. Her phone call doesn't have a voicemail, so I decide to call back.

It rings once before I hear Lexis voice, "Bree?"

"Hey Lexi, sorry I abandoned you guys." I apologize.

She scoffs, "Its not your fault, from where I was standing it looked like he lead you away. Do you two know each other?" She asks.

"No. Well I literally ran into him the other day when I was coming home from midterms, but other then exchanging apologies we didn't converse." I explain.

"Okay. I was just worried he kidnapped you and was boring you to death." She says.

I giggle, "He's not that bad actually."

"Did Bree Davenport just giggle?" Lexi mockingly asks.

I roll my eyes even though she can't hear me.

"Does somebody have a crush?" Lexi teases.

"No. Now I have to go, I'll talk to you later." I say.

"Fine, if your looking for us just call. Bye!" Lexi says. 

I hang up before she could tease me anymore. I put my phone in my clutch and look over the city again, enjoying the peace.

I feel a hand lightly touch my shoulder and she Sebastian smiling at me.

He slides into the seat across form me and smirks, "Sorry about that, it was my dad calling to apologize about not making it."

"Its fine, I was just enjoying the view." I say.

"Yeah its pretty nice, that's why I bought the apartment." He says.

"Its not because its bigger then most American houses, or the beautiful finishes, or the neighborhood." I tease.

His smirk grows, "Nah, that's just icing on the cake. The view is wonderful during the day, and the stars are spectacular at night."

He suddenly stands up, "Do you want to take a walk?"

"And just abandon your party?" I inquire.

He rolls his eyes, "If it makes you feel better we can walk the deck, it's over 1000sq ft."

"I guess so." I say.

We walk arm in arm just chatting about meaningless stuff. He pauses and says hi to someone every once and awhile.

We were walking in comfortable silence when Sebastian says, "Hey Chase, Maya, -"

I don't hear the rest as I look behind Sebastian and see my little brother grinning. He has his arm around the waist of an elegant girl with long black hair emerald eyes in a classy black dress. I recognize her as Chases best friend, Maya. Though they appear to be more then best friends.

Maya recognizes me before Chase, but when he does a second later the grin drops from his face. His face transforms from disbelief, to hurt, then finally settles in anger.

"Maya you look beautiful as always, Chase you're a very lucky guy." Sebastian says, but when his eyes fall on Chase he seems to realize the tension in the air.

"Thank you Sebastian." Maya replies.

Sebastian looks at me with concern on his face, "Bree this is one of my closest friends form college, Chase Davenport. Chase this is-" But Chase uncharacteristically cuts him off.

"My sister Bree." Hatred drips from every word.

Sebastian looks at me in disbelief.

Maya whispers something in his ear, causing his face to turn neutral, before sliding out of his grip and saying, "Sebastian why don't show us your new car."

Sebastian nods, he squeezes my arm before leading Maya and the two others with her away.

I immediately miss his warmth, but quickly send a silent 'thank you' to Maya. I wasn't ready to talk to Chase or Adam yet because I was closest to them and probably hurt them the most.

Especially Chase, since he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.

His face remains impassive, and he doesn't indicate that he's going to start the conversation.

So I start, "When did you and Maya get together?"

"Shut up." Chase retorts apathetically.

If he were to slap me it would have hurt less.

"You have no right coming back and acting like nothings changed." His voice becomes more hateful with every word.

I take a step back, my eyes begin filling with tears.

He becomes angrier when I do that. "Don't cry. You have no idea what we went through, what I went through, when you left."

I look away; I've never seen such hatred in Chases eyes before.

"Or when you came back." His voice cracks.

I look up and see tears falling from his eyes, he either doesn't notice or care.

"You, Adam, and Mr. Davenport were my whole world until Leo came. You and Adam were my best friends, my only friends even when we left the lab. Then you leave, and six months later you _die_. Bree I lost you, I mourned you, I still mourned you until Mr. Davenport called. I was so happy, but then hurt. All I get is your alive and not ready to talk. _Ready?_ Really Bree, ready." He spits the last part. He was becoming hysterical, but paused to recover.

"Do you think _I_ was _ready_ to mourn my sister? Did you think any of us were? But then you decided to come back and call Mr. Davenport, but not me. Bree were always in my life, until you weren't. I trusted you with my life, but you didn't trust me." He is no longer mad, now he's defeated, which is worse.

"I do trust you, but I called dad first-"I start to explain.

" _Dad_? Since when did you refer to Mr. Davenport as _dad_? And no you don't trust me, if you did you would have came to me for help instead of turning our lives upside down." He states, emotionless once again.

"Chase, I'm sorry." I don't know what else to say.

He hangs his head and shakes it 'no'. Then he walks away.

I just stand there watching him receded until he walks through the door and downstairs.

I let the tears out. It only lasts for less then a minute before I try to compose my self and call Troy.

"Bree?" He asks.

"Troy." I say.

He probably hears the sadness in my voice because his next words are, "I'm coming, just stay where you are." He hangs up.

I numbly listen to the dial tone before clicking end and shoving my phone in my clutch.

No one is near me so I go over to the rail and lean against it while I silently cry.

I feel a jacket drape across my shoulders, I grip it and smell Troy's familiar cologne.

He turns me around and pulls me in a hug, I feel Lexi rub soothing circles on my shoulder.

"Why don't you get the car, and I'll go tell Sebastian we're leaving." Lexi offers.

I feel Troy nod his head, as he leads me away.

We managed to avoid the most populous parts of the house, and now I'm sitting in the back seat with Lexi hugging me as Troy drives us home.

 **A/N Hey, I'd like to explain that the whole storyline follows the Lab Rats story line, except Krane was never Evil which means the Lab Rats bionics were never revealed to the world, and the only bionic humans are Adam, Bree, and Chase.**

 **Maya is a OC from another story of mine; she probably won't make another appearance. This story also has nothing to do with the other story she's in.**

 **Chase is my surprise!**

 **Chase and Bree will makeup don't worry. If you're upset about Chases anger, try looking at things from his point of view.**

 **Please let me know what you think by reviewing!**


	7. Chapter 7

"What happened? Was Sebastian a jerk?" Lexi asks once the condo complex is out of view.

I wipe my hands across my face, happy that I wore waterproof mascara. I take a deep breath before answering, "Your brother was wonderful, but I didn't know he was friends with Chase Davenport, my little brother." My voice cracks when I say Chases name, and I start quietly crying by the end of it.

Lexi and Troy exchange a look and the rest of the car ride is spent in silence sans my quiet sobs.

Troy puts the car in park, and we all sit there for a moment before Troy takes the keys out of the ignition.

Lexi gets out of the car while Troy helps me out from the other side.

Troy has his arm around me while Lexi holds my hand as we walk back to the apartment. I don't know what I did to deserve my wonderful friends, but I'm immensely grateful.

When we walk into my apartment I gained most of my composure, but when I see Dad I break out into tears again.

Dad looks confused but he takes me from Troy and wraps me into a hug. It reminds me of when I was little and had a nightmare, he always chased the bad dreams away but sadly he can't fix it this time.

I explained to them what happened with Chase, and they were not happy about his reaction.

Troy wanted to go punch Chase in the face, but we calmed him down.

Lexi also wanted to punch Chase, but she knew it wouldn't make me feel better so she suggested that I explain to Chase what happened.

Dad surprised me and took Chases side. At first I though it was because Chase was his favorite, but then he explained that it was because he understood the pain it was to lose me. He offered to talk to Chase, but I declined because I know it would be best if I talked to him.

Troy and Lexi left to let my dad and I talk.

"When does he leave?" I ask, because I would like to talk to him before he leaves.

Dad sighs. "He leaves tomorrow at 3 so he can make his flight to be at school before his first period."

I think for a moment, I have to be at work by 8 and I get off at 1. "I wont be able to talk to him tomorrow." I sadly admit.

"Its probably for the best. He's coming home for Christmas, and that should be enough time for him to cool off and think about the situation." Dad says.

That gives me around a month and a half to prepare.

It takes me a while to convince dad I'm going to be fine, and he reluctantly leaves.

Once everyone's gone and the apartments locked up I go and check on Ezra. Dad put him to bed before we came home. I walk in and see him cuddling his stuffed manatee. I lightly brush his hair out of his face, then I bend down and kiss him before whispering, "I love you."

 **Line Break**

I'm sitting in an oversized t-shirt and sweats watching infomercials since I can't fall asleep.

I look at the clock and groan, it's 3:28. I have work at 8 and Troy's coming over at 7 to watch Ezra. I get up and drag myself to bed.

 _Beep… Beep_ my wonderfully horrendous alarm wakes me from my sleep at 6 a.m. like every other morning.

I groan and hit snooze before rolling over and trying to get a few more minutes of sleep. Sadly that doesn't happen, because my alarm woke Ezra up, and now he is sitting on the edge of my bed pulling the covers off.

"Ez, I'm coming." I say as I sit up.

I lift my arms above my head and arch my back into the stretch. Sadly it doesn't help my grogginess.

Ez is currently jumping up and down on the end of my bed with his stuffed manatee.

I grab him around the waist and pull him into a hug, "Don't do that Ez, you could fall and hurt yourself."

He just giggles and starts to squirm. I hold him tighter and then start tickling his nose, which sends him into another bout of giggles.

I place him on my lap and pull my hair up in a messy ponytail.

"How about scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast?" I ask.

He shakes his head 'no', which is new for him since he never does that to me.

"No?" I ask.

He grins up at me.

"Who taught you that?" I ask.

He points to me.

I fake gasp, "I certainly did not."

He grins again. I'm not sure if he understands me or is just smiling at the funny faces I'm making. He doesn't verbally respond yet, dad says Chase did the same thing so I shouldn't worry, but I'm still worried.

"I guess it doesn't matter because we are having eggs anyway." I say and then throw him over my shoulder and walk to the kitchen.

He giggles the whole way and kicks his little feet. I place him on one of the chairs that's in my dinning room/living room/kitchen/foyer.

"Okay Ez I'm going to cook and you are going to sit there and play with Manny." I instruct.

Troy thought it would be clever to name the manatee Manny; since he bought it for Ezra I let him pick the name out.

Ezra just puts Manny in the seat next to him and then lays a napkin out for the both of them.

"Hey Ez, can you lay a napkin out for me?" I ask.

He nods and quickly completes the task.

"Thanks bud." I say.

He grins at me and then kicks his legs out as he watches me watch the toaster as I sprinkle some cheese on the eggs.

4 minutes later I have a plate of eggs, toast, and fruit. Ezra has the same plate of food, just half the size.

Ezra completely bypasses the fruit and heads straight for the eggs.

I take a bite of my fruit before saying, "Ezra eat your fruit."

He just shovels another piece of egg in his mouth.

I sigh, it's to early to fight with him. I'll make Troy do it later.

I finish eating and wash my plate in the sink as Ezra finishes his toast. I place my plate on the drying rack and turn around and see Ezra eating the fruit.

A smile spreads across my face, "Good job Ezra."

He grins at me and then shoves a strawberry in Manny's 'mouth', and now there is a stain on Manny that I'll have to get out later.

"You win some you lose some." I mutter.

Ezra apparently heard me and he turns around and grins at me.

I sit and watch as Ezra finishes his fruit, Manny still has the strawberry smeared across his face.

Ezra finishes and then proudly shows me his empty plate.

"Good job Ez, I'm proud of you. You got most of the food on you, but I'm still proud of you." I say with a smile.

He smiles back.

I pick the plate up and Ezra, but before we can go anywhere he needs to pick Manny up.

I leave the plate in the sink and then head to the bathroom and turn the water on to get it warm.

I undress Ezra and place him in the warm water; I even let him take Manny since it's dirty anyway.

"You can only have Manny with you this one time." I say.

Ezra just happily splashes Manny in the bathtub.

I use a face cloth and gently rub the food off of him. Once he's clean I let him play for a little bit as I grab the towel off of the rack. I turn around and see Ezra cleaning Manny with the face cloth I just used on his face. It's sweet, but he's making a huge mess.

"It's time to get out." I pick him up and wrap him in the towel.

He reaches for Manny.

"Sorry Ez, Manny has to take his own bath in a minute, but then you can play with him." I say.

Ezra gives me the most adorable c pout, but I don't relent.

I sit on the toilet cover and towel dry the sad little boy.

Next I pick him up and carry him to the bedroom where I have his clothes laid out from the night before.

He's almost potty trained so I put him in Spiderman underwear with jeans, cute little converse that Lexi bought him, and a sky blue t-shirt that says 'Mommy's Little Man'. I then comb through his hair with my fingers and he's ready for the day.

"Go play with your toys in the living room, I got to go clean the bathroom." I instruct.

He listens and heads to the living room as I get my work uniform. I place a clean towel and my uniform on the towel rack and then proceed to gather Ezra's toys and rinse the tub out. Next I dry the floor with his dirty towel. I throw it in the hamper.

"Where's Manny?" I ask myself.

I rush into the living room and see Manny sitting across from Ezra as he builds something out of blocks. There is also soap smeared across the wall and floor from where Ezra dragged the dirty toy around.

"Ez." I say.

He looks over at me and grins.

I sigh and walk over to him before I kneel down.

"I said Manny needs a bath before you can play with him." I say.

He pouts as I take Manny and put him in the hamper.

He then throws a temper tantrum because I wont let him go into the bathroom and grab it.

I ignore him as I clean up his mess. Then the door opens revealing a jolly Troy.

"Good morning Davenports." He greets.

Then he takes in the mess and Ezra's state.

"What happened?" He asks.

I blow a lose strand of hair out of my face. "That Manatee you bought Ezra last week was a horrible decision."

"But the little guy loves it." Troy defends.

I huff in annoyance, "Just calm him down while I clean this up."

Tory holds his hands up in defense as he slowly walks toward Ezra.

Ezra has calmed down to just sniffles, but he's still unhappy.

Troy picks him up and says, "Hey Ezzie."

"I'm going to take this little guy to the park, and we'll see you when you get off of your shift." Troy says.

I walk over to them and give Ezra a kiss in the forehead "I love you." I say to him.

"Thanks Troy this means a lot." I say.

"It's no problem Bree." He says.

They leave with a wave and then I get ready for work.

 **A/N Sorry for the late update.**

 **This was slightly boring, but that's because it's a filler chapter and I wanted you guys to see more of Ezra.**

 **Adam is in the next chapter!**

 **Please review and let me know what you think :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Can you come in today? Sandra called in sick, and Mark is away on vacation." My boss's words filter thorough my phone.

"Let me find a baby sitter, I'll text you when I'm on my way." I say.

She thanks me, and then we hang up.

I put my phone down and go back to my kitchen table where Ezra is currently eating a bowl of fruit and French toast.

"Sorry bud, but mom has to go into work today so I need to find a babysitter. Troy is busy with work, Lexi just got off a huge shift, so why don't I ask grandpa and grandma?" I think out loud. After Tasha and I talked she insisted that I refer to her and Dad as grandma and grandpa, Dad resisted at first saying it made him feel old, but Tasha eventually won.

Ezra smiles, so I'll take that as a yes.

I go back to the kitchen and grab my phone and dial Dads' number. I sit next to Ezra as I wait for Dad to pick up.

"Hello?" Dad asks, which is weird since he has caller ID, but he probably didn't glance at it.

"Dad, it's me Bree. I need a favor-" I start to ask but get cut off.

"Bree?! It's Adam, how are you? Why don't you call? Are you ok? When are you coming back?" Adam starts asking.

Before I could even register that Adam is on the other line I hear people arguing on the other end and a door shutting before I hear Dad.

"Sorry Bree, I was on a conference call and Adam got my phone." Dad says.

"It's fine, but Adam sounds just like you on the phone." I say, still a little shocked that I just talked to Adam.

"Are you okay?" Dad asks, he can probably her how unsettled I am.

"Yeah -Um – Anyway I got called in last minute and need an emergency babysitter. Today' s my first day off from school and work in 3 weeks, so I was going to spend it with Ezra at the park, but I could use the extra money so I said yes." I explain.

"It's no problem, but is it ok if I bring Ezra here? Because I have another conference call, and Tasha will be here soon. Plus Adam has school and football practice so he won't be here, and Leo left to go visit some colleges so he won't be back for a few days." Dad asks.

"That works." I reluctantly say.

Dad and I exchange good byes and then he hangs up. I listen to the dial tone for a moment and then I hang up and get Ezra's baby bag ready.

Ezra's ready to go by the time Dad arrives, but I'm not ready for him to go.

"There's my favorite grandchild." Dad says as he walks through the door.

"He's your only grandchild." I say.

"Details." Dad brushes my statement off as he picks Ezra up. "Are you ready to spend the day with me?" Dad asks and Ezra grins.

"Hey Dad I was wondering." I trail off, unsure about his reaction.

Dad focuses in on me, "Wondering what?"

"When does Adam finish school and practice?" I hesitantly ask, still afraid of my unstated idea.

Dad gives me a curious look, but answers the question without a follow up question, "8."

I take a deep breath, "Do you think I could maybe stop by after work, instead of you dropping Ezra off." I suggest.

Dad looks presently surprised, "Yes, of course. But how are you going to get there, you don't have a car."

"The bus." I say.

He gives me an exasperated look, and that's when I realize what a bad idea this is. "You know what, it's fine-" I start to retract my idea but Dad cuts me off.

"No Bree it's a wonderful idea, but there is no way that I'm letting you ride a bus for 2 hours at 6p.m. to 8p.m. and then ride back, with Ezra, at who knows what time. I'll send a driver for you." Dad says.

I start to argue, "You don't really need to do that, I can catch up another-"

Dad cuts me off again, "No I insist, and you may be tired so bring an overnight bag, and some stuff for Ezra."

Dad looks at me and starts talking before I could even open my mouth, "There is no way Tasha will let you go home late at night, and she will be excited. Plus tomorrow's Sunday so I know you don't have school or work."

"But what about Adam." I argue even though I know it's futile.

"Adam will be thrilled, now it's settled. We will see you later for dinner. Say by to mommy." Dad says. Ezra waves at me.

Then they are out the door before I could even argue.

 **Line Break**

I'm so glad that Dad came and got me 8 hours later, I don't think I could have handled the painfully awkward atmosphere of driving with one of his employees that I haven't seen in years.

"So Tasha's watching Ezra, and we are having pasta for dinner." Dad informs me as we pull onto the highway.

The rest of the car ride is spent with Dad telling me about some new invention he's working on, I tune him out and think about Adam. I'm terrified he will reject me like Chase did, I don't know what I would do if I pushed two brothers away. Dad probably notices my discomfort, but instead of commenting on it, he just continues talking.

The two hour ride felt short, but the clock tells me we arrive right on time. Dad parks and pulls the keys out of the ignition with a sigh, "Bree he's not even here yet, and wont be for 2 and a half hours. Just relax."

I nod my head and take a deep breath, it satisfies dad but does nothing to calm my nerves.

Dinner was wonderful, it took my mind off of meeting Adam.

Tasha and I were doing dishes as Dad played with Ezra.

"I heard what happened with Chase." Tasha quietly says.

I should have known she sent Dad away so we could talk. "Oh." Is all I could think to say, I knew if I started talking about it I would start crying.

Tasha makes a plate for Adam and puts it in the refrigerator as I rinse the final dish off and put it in the dishwasher.

Tasha shuts the door and walks over to me, she rubs my back gently. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but Adam will welcome you back with open arms."

I sigh, "I can't lose another brother." I whisper.

Tasha pulls me into a hug, "Oh honey."

She squeezes me before pulling away.

 **Line Break**

I'm in the kitchen grabbing a snack when Adam walks in through the garage. Dad, Tasha, and Ezra are in the living room watching a movie.

I see Adam before he sees me, he looks good. He still had this child-like innocence about him. He carries himself like he's afraid that he will push someone away, but when he notices me a moment later all of his troubles lift from his shoulders and he's grinning from ear to ear. He drops his football gear and backpack to take a few strides towards me, he engulfs me in a hug and picks me up. Adam usually squeezes the life out of people (literally), but instead he is holding me like I'm going to sip away and disappear forever, which I sort of did.

"Bree." Adam whispers in disbelief.

I hug him back, when I pull away to see his face Adam places me gently on the floor. "Adam I'm so sorry-"

He cuts me off, "I'm so glad your home, I missed you so much. Missions aren't the same without you, and everyone has been more gloomy without you here. Please don't go."

His last line shreds my heart up into little pieces. "Adam I won't leave again, I mean I will leave to go back to Zeddtown, but you can visit or call whenever you want."

Adam's face falls when he hears where I'm living, "But I'll visit for birthdays, and holidays, and breaks. Just because I'm not moving back doesn't mean that I'm disappearing again." I say, trying to bring back his smile.

"Adam I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, I was scared and embarrassed." I explain.

Adams brown eyes bore into mine, they show his pain and sadness. "Why?" His voice cracks, like he's been screaming this days, and for all I know he has been.

"Why what?" I ask, not sure what he's asking.

He swallows, "Why did you leave?"

"I think its best if I show you." I say.

Adam nods and then I lead him into the living room.

"What took so long, I was about to send out a search party." Dad says, but his voice trails off when he sees Adam behind me.

Tasha looks over when Dad trails off, she nudges Donald and then says, "We are going to go fill up on popcorn." She then grabs Dad by the hand and leads him to the kitchen.

Ezra looks over when Tasha and Dad get up, he walks over to me in curiosity when he sees Adam. I pick him up and rest him on my hip before turning around, "Adam this is your nephew Ezra Davenport, Ezra say hi to uncle Adam."

Ezra stares at Adam uncertainty, but when Adam smiles and waves Ezra grins back. "Do you want to hold him?" I ask.

Adam looks shocked, but eagerly agrees.

Ezra warms up to Adam quickly and soon we are all watching the _Lion King_ and Ezra would rather sit with Adam then me.

 **A/N Sorry for the late update, but I had sever writers block. I'm not really happy with how this turned out, but hopefully you guys like.**

 **Please leave a review and tell me what you think, even though I can't read reviews right now.**

 **Happy New Year!**


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